Washington, DC – Pleasant Plains Workshop is pleased to announce the third installation of its public art project, the Georgia Avenue Window Walk.The Georgia Avenue Window Walk is a temporary public art project that engages residents, businesses and visitors to the community by placing art installations in storefront spaces along the lower Georgia Avenue Corridor.

The project is a collaboration between Pleasant Plains Workshop, the Georgia Avenue Community Development Task Force, and a group of Pleasant Plains resident-volunteers. This year’s exhibition features five artist installations that connect to the history and current culture of Georgia Avenue.2014 PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES & ARTISTS:Mama Chuy DC
2610 Georgia Ave NW
Artist: Tsedaye Makonnen

Tsedaye Makonnen is an Ethiopian-American self-taught visual and performance artist who grew up on Georgia Avenue and was born at Howard University Hospital. One theme that weaves through her work is exploring the harmony and cacophony between her two cultures and identities. Mama Chuy DCwhich opened in 2011 is a Mexican eatery serving authentic fare from te Jalisco region of Mexico, including sopes, tortas, and tacos.

Luke Atkinson was born in Saint John, New Brunswick. He studied painting and drawing at Winthrop University, the Washington Studio School, the Torpedo Factory, and the New York Academy of Art. From The Core Studios is a new Boutique fitness studio offering a variety of fitness classes, a dedicated pilates equipment room, and personal training. ElectriCity DC is an electrical contracting business that specializes in electrical contracting, fire alarm systems, generators, and closed circuit television (CCTV) for commercial, government, and residential clients.

Jane Claire Remick‘s artistic mediums shift from project to project and are often collaborative, spanning, and combine video, new media, performance, and scenography/installation. Morgan’s Seafoodis a neighborhood staple and the longest running business on ‘the avenue’. Open for over 80 years, it is currently operated by Romeo Morgan who is also the president of the Georgia Avenue Business Association

Zsudayka Nzingais a visual and performance artist from Denver, Colorado. She paints women and political surrealist messages. Nzinga also leads fashion and cooking workshops around the city encouraging self love. Yoga Heights –is a recently-opened studio that offersyoga, pilates and nutrition to create balanced wellness for every body, at every level and every budget.

Elizabeth Graeber is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and an illustrator living and working in DC. Her illustrations have been featured in The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, and her book, An Illustrated Guide to Cocktails was recently published by Penguin Press. Eats Place is a neighborhood restaurant and bar that’s a food incubator featuring a commercial kitchen and marketplace with dining space to host pop-up restaurants and guest chef residencies.

Join us for the launch celebration and art walk on Sunday, November 9, starting at Pleasant Plains Workshop at 2pm. At 3pm, we will walk by each installation and hear from the artists and site owners. There will be a chance to mingle and chat at our final stop, Eats Place. (Facebook invite>>)

Coming up in May, artist Ann-Marie VanTassell presents an installation that peers into the world of NASCAR – the largest spectator sport in America. In a style reminiscent of anthropological photographer, Catherine Opie, the artist presents portraits of the everyday people that bring the sport to life.

I photograph people that I think are fascinating. That is not to say my photographs do not say anything about me. Whether I admire my subjects for their beauty, character, or strength, something about who they are helps me discover something about myself.
-Ann-Marie VanTassell

Ann-Marie VanTassell is a Washington, D.C. based photographer, graduate of the Corcoran School of Art + Design with a BFA in photojournalism, and a current Resident Artist at Pleasant Plains Workshop. Join us for a tailgate party celebrating the exhibition her at PPW on May 16th!

Everyone has an embarrassing art tale (or two)… Like an incredibly hideous piece that you once thought was your Magnus Opus. Or that time you applied to some residency only to reread your application later and see how it was full of typos and grammatical errors. Did you ever embarrass yourself while talking to an art dealer or collector? Or damage an artwork at a gallery opening?Lower Moments showcases a series of disasters in an effort to provide ‘group therapy’ for all artists in the Metropolitan Area, and offer some humanity and humor to the process of making and presenting art. What better way to move on from painful moments than to share them with others and have a laugh? This exhibition is meant to be light-hearted and fun.

Pleasant Plains Workshop is pleased to help kick-off a series of print-focused art exhibitions at Upshur Street Books! Print Exchange will feature prints and other 2-D works in partnership with area arts organizations. For this first iteration, Pleasant Plains Workshop will be displaying hand-pulled prints by PPW resident artists. Multiples will be available for purchase in the shop through the end of March. Join us for a reception with the artists on Friday, January 16th at 7pm and enjoy refreshments and in-store specials. (Facebook Invite>>

This exhibition features a collection of prints owned by our resident print-makers. Alongside each print will be a story of where the print came from, how it inspires the artist, and any other fun facts about the work. The works on view are not for sale, but each artist will be adding a new print to our inventory which will be available in multiples at the shop.

In the gallery through January 31st: ‘Collective Memory’ is a project by PPW resident artist, Danielle Scruggs that began in 2012. The artist has created a series of traced portraits of men, women, and youth of color who have been victims of police brutality. Their images come from newspaper articles and other media, and their individual spirits are highlighted by the artist who carefully outlines their features onto paper and transcribes their names directly onto the gallery wall.When I first began this series, these kind of stories did not often garner much media attention and I wanted to raise awareness. And depending on who the victim is (i.e., a Black woman, or Black transgender person), these stories still are often ignored in favor of more easily digestible news and narratives. For every Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, and Eric Garner, there are dozens and dozens of stories that go underreported, if they are reported at all.

By placing these fragile pieces together, I want to bring these stories to the forefront of people’s minds, to show that these were people, not just statistics. I want to raise questions about who killed these people and why, and what that does to society as a whole. -D.S.

Pleasant Plains Workshop is pleased to present a group exhibition featuring members of the local arts collective, DDAY. DDAY Collective was established in 2013 by DC-based artists David Ibata, Danielle Scruggs, alice wonder, and Yodith Dammlash to promote and support emerging artists in the DC Metropolitan area through independent curatorial projects and cultural programming.

‘Portrait of an Artist’ explores the nature of visual work as a reflective surface, one that gives insight into artists’ processes, practices, influences and distinct personalities. Within this exhibit, each artist evokes their working space (internal/external) by placing physical items and ephemera around the completed work, to provide the audience context into personal influences that inform their craft, helping to complete a “portrait” of the person who created it.

In Essentially Qualified the artist Paul Shortt explores the contradictions inherent in beingqualified for employment without the hands­on experience necessary to land a job. Through video, enlarged sculptures, a create your own diploma station, and a reimagining of the standard resume format, the artist attempts to play, antagonize and reflect on what it means to enter the labor force.Highlights of this exhibition will be Please Congratulate Me, an enlarged sculpture of a graduation tassel that will be hung from the building and Intern as Art, a performative piece in the form of a hired an intern who is paid to gallery sit, search for more permanent employment online, and enthusiastically talk to gallery about works in the show and his or herself.

Pleasant Plains Workshop is thrilled to be participating in the fourth annual (e)merge art fair. We will present a Resident Artists group exhibition, and also offer innovative programming daily in our booth. Stay tuned for a full schedule, and look for us there in a section designated forcollectives and alternative arts spaces.

With a nod to art history and masterpieces made by the greatest artists of the last five hundred years, Stacy Cantrell brings her quirky humor and irreverence for the sacred to Looped, a show of free form macro-crochet. Exploring the dichotomy between fiber and the materials used in the classics, such as hard unyielding marble, Ms. Cantrell re-imagines and reinterprets these iconic pieces using soft, brightly colored yarn to create a surprising new twist on some of the most famous artworks of the modern age. -Kim Ward, Curator

Stacy Cantrell was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1972. She received her BA in Music/Art in 1995 and she is currently working on her MA in History of Decorative Arts with graduation projected in Spring 2014. Stacy learned to crochet at the age of 4 and became an expert at making everything from scarves to custom designed Barbie doll clothing. Over time her style has developed into a free-form exploration, and she’s been creating three-dimensional works in the macro realm. Stacy worked on the Smithsonian Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Exhibition in 2010 as a curatorial intern as well as a featured artist. Stacy has also recently participated in Artisphere’s award winning Yarn Bomb sponsored by the Rosslyn BID. She incorporated her macro, free-form style, decorating the Rosslyn landscape with giant grapes, carrots, bananas and various geometric works. Once again working with Artisphere, she was commission to create forty Andy Warhol inspired crochet bananas as a fundraiser to bring the Andy Warhol exhibition “Silver Clouds” to Rosslyn, VA.

Kim Ward is an independent arts consultant with deep experience in conceptual planning for projects that integrate public art in both public and private spaces. She specializes in creating teams of collaborators, including curators, artists and designers, to support site-specific projects connecting greenways, transforming urban corridors, solving urban design issues and providing community engagement. She currently serves as the coordinator for public art and placemaking at the Rosslyn BID. She has served as a commissioner for the Arlington County Arts Commission and chaired the Arlington County Public Art Committee. Prior to becoming actively involved in her community’s cultural life, Ms. Ward served as Executive Director of the Washington Project for the Arts from 2005 to 2009.

“From Ode to Elegy” is a solo exhibition by emerging DC-based photographer, E. Jane. Jane will debut an artist book and a series of photographs portraying the Georgia Avenue Corridor. The photographs mirror a feeling of disconnectedness that the artist felt upon moving to DC in 2012. And although they mainly document spots that are either abandoned or in disarray, there is an undertone of Georgia Avenue’s rich history and culture that seeps out through the cracks. There is also a nod to the future of the corridor and its impending gentrification. A sound installation, created in collaboration with local artist, chukwumaa, will accompany the exhibition.

Half artist mag, half local rag, The Crier is a new DIY local newspaper edited by Natalie Campbell, Bryan Minnich, and Martine Workman, featuring contributions from Katlyn D’Angelo, Elizabeth Graeber, Josh Kramer, Sarah McDermott, Liz Zanis and many more! Drawing on historical sources, commercial graphic design conventions and folklore, we invite artists to explode the idea of “community news.” Each issue functions like an artist residency in print: a different lead artist-editor will create “assignments” and determine how content is solicited.

Issue #1 will launch on September 28th, 4-7 PM, in conjunction with an installation at Pleasant Plains Workshop. The Crier invites interested parties to take a peek inside its press room with an exhibition on view through October 26.

Pleasant Plains Workshop presents Americana- a solo exhibition by DC-based artist, and 2013 Sondheim Finalist, Larry Cook. Cook will utilize photography, video and and an interactive web platform to create a multi-media installation that reflects on black culture and American identity. In anticipation for the show, Cook invites viewers to contribute to his ongoing blog ‘Sag My Pants’- a lighthearted exploration of why ‘the young folk’ choose to participate in this trend, and whether they are aware of its cultural roots.
check out the blog and/or contribute here>>

Larry Cook, a 2012 MFA graduate of The George Washington University (GWU), is a photographer and video artist who has been featured in exhibitions in several galleries in the Washington, DC and Maryland areas, including those at The Corcoran Gallery of Art, the University of Maryland, the Brentwood Arts Exchange, Hillyer Art Space, the Smithsonian and Gallery 102 at GWU. He is an adjunct professor of photography at GWU and a proud teacher for Project Create, a non-profit organization that provides art education for children experiencing poverty and homelessness.

Pleasant Plains Workshop is an incubator space for 8 resident artists working in a variety of mediums. Through their connection to the workshop, they have access to the print studio and often incorporate printmaking in their works. See pieces from each artist, and explore the studio spaces in our new building expansion.
(image credit: works L to R by Champneys Taylor, Rujunko Pugh, Kristina Bilonick)

Outside, comprises a selection of seven paintings and three drawings by Josh Dihle. Each work is a dense, modestly scaled depiction of plants and animals made through a variety of painterly approaches. The exhibition would be accompanied by the release of a series of prints and drawings made in collaboration with Pleasant Plains Workshop resident artist, Anthony Dihle.

December 1, 2012 – Jan 31, 2013

Back for a second time, we bring you Present Day- a locally sourced holiday gift shop featuring small artworks and handmade gifts by local local artists. Items range in price from $5-100 with lots of items at the $20 price point. Shop for friends and loved ones, and sneak in some items for yourself!

Low Moments will be a showcase of artistic failures presented in an effort to provide ‘group therapy’ for all artists in the Metropolitan Area. What better way to move on from painful moments than to share them with others and have a laugh? This exhibition will function as a light-hearted analysis of lower points in our artistic careers that will aid us as we move forward in pursuing our artistic goals.

Cultivated from an open call, the work displayed will include: Embarrassing artworks, school work, charming artist statements, heart-wrenching rejection notification letters, break up art, not-so-successful self portraits, and more!

We’ll also be hosting a storytelling event on September 28th! info here>>

September 23 – October 20, 2012
We will have works on display from the two newest additions to the Georgia Avenue Window Walk: Dana Jeri Maier and Elizabeth Stewart
Join us for a reception and art walk on Sunday, September 24th starting at 4pm (tour starts at 5:30pm) more info>>

May 18 – June 30, 2012In Our ‘Hood- a community-sourced exhibition surrounding themes of gentrification and community presented at Pleasant Plains Workshop and Artspace DC

Pleasant Plains Workshop is partnering with Artspace DC (located in the Shaw Neighborhood) to present a group exhibition and community dialogue surrounding ideas of gentrificiation. In Our ‘Hood consists of visual art exhibitions at PPW and Artspace DC matched with programming, performances, talks, and screenings at other venues in the community. See below for additional information on the artists and events.

Join us for a month of vintage fashion appreciation! We are thrilled to have the DC collective, Trash Cat take over our shop for the month of Feb – transforming it into a wonderland of vintage & preloved threads (for men and women), accesories, and other treasures! We’ll also be hosting a series of events including panel discussions, a fashion show, and closing day swap-o-rama blowout sale!

July 29 – September 3, 2011Greetings from Paradise- prints & installation by Annie Albagli
Annie Albagli was a Teaching Artist in Residence at Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center, where she produced a series of multi-layered, unique screen prints combining images from nature and symbols, and employing a multitude of techniques and materials.

With Greetings From Paradise, Albagli explored ideas of personal ‘paradise’ with a site-specific window installation and an array of large and small-scale screen prints. Viewers also contributed to the series by participating in interviews on what ‘paradise’ is to them. For more information on the artist visit: http://www.anniealbagli.com

June 18 – July 23, 2011WIRED by Amber Robles-Gordon
Pleasant Plains Workshop is pleased to present a solo project, Wired, by artist, Amber Robles-Gordon. Robles-Gordon recently received her MFA from Howard University and works in mixed media, textile, photography, and painting.

For this exhibition, Robles-Gordon transformed found objects with ribbons, gimp, fabric, wire and other materials to create exciting wall works that explore patterns, color and material. The works also speak to her cultural identity which is influenced by Caribbean, Latin-American, and African-American cultures.
For more informatiion on the artist visit: www.amberroblesgordon.comclick here to read the curator’s statement>>

April 2 – April 30, 2011
Works by Elizabeth Graeber
Elizabeth is an artist and illustrator who graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2007. You can find her works in area shops and galleries such as Art Spring in Silver Spring, Atomic Books in Baltimore, and Ginger Roots on U street. For more information on Elizabeth’s art, check out her web site.

-2010-

December 18, 2010 – January 20, 2010FLURRY featuring works by the artists of Project Dispatch